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Abra Line/DPPt
Abra can be found on Routes 203 and 215, though its only move is Teleport, so it will flee from battle unless caught or trapped in the first turn. An Abra can also be traded for a Machop in Oreburgh City. Kadabra is found on Route 215 as well, in all three games; in Diamond and Pearl, it can also be found in Victory Road. Abra, the ever-elusive Pokémon! Unlike some of the Kanto and Johto games, there is no Game Corner to buy it from. This is, however, compensated by the tradeability for Machop and the presence of wild Kadabra, which still do have Teleport, but also other moves they might just use, instead of escaping capture right away as their pre-evolution does. Gameplay-wise, the Abra line was massively downpowered in the Generation III to IV passage, with the advent of the physical/special split and powerful new (and old) physical moves that Psychics are weak to; the loss of the elemental punches - technically available in Platinum, but useless as they are now physical - was also a major setback. On the bright side, the move asset also gained the now-special Shadow Ball and the brand new Focus Blast to play with, as well as Grass alternatives, of which only Grass Knot is, however, available before the postgame. The usage is otherwise much the same as it was in the previous generation: set up and sweep, with Reflect support if and where needed. Psychic-types in general are nowhere as amazing as they used to be, but they still have a few neat tricks up their sleeve, and Abra liners also have the benefit of learning them comparatively fast. Important Matchups - Platinum = * Gym #1 - Roark (Oreburgh City, Rock-type): Abra's only available move at this point is Teleport, so it cannot do anything against Roark. Kadabra has no such issue: it can 2HKO both Geodude and Onix with Confusion, and neither of them can KO it, even if their Rock Throw damage piles up. Only a healthy Kadabra can fight Cranidos, as its Pursuit is a 2HKO like Kadabra's Confusion, assuming that Kadabra stays in; a switch-out transforms it into a net OHKO. * Mars (Valley Windworks): Zubat gets blasted by Confusion, but Purugly KOs Kadabra easily with Fake Out and Faint Attack. Do not fight it. * Gym #2 - Gardenia (Eterna City, Grass-type): Kadabra can 2-3HKO Turtwig with Confusion, but a regular Razor Leaf on top of a critical one will topple Kadabra before it can win; if Turtwig goes for Sunny Day instead, Kadabra will live, but Cherrim will be more difficult to beat. Since Cherrim's Grass Knot is a 3HKO with a small 2HKO chance, Kadabra can only hope to 3HKO it with Confusion if fully healthy and without Sunny Day up, which would otherwise boost Cherrim's Special Defense by 50%. Roserade is a near-certain 2HKO, but its Grass Knot deals even more damage than Confusion, so Kadabra should handle it with care (for itself) as a critical hit will kill. * Jupiter (Galactic Eterna Building): Like Mars, Zubat is wrecked by Confusion or Psybeam, but her ace is an untouchable Skuntank with Night Slash and Kadabra should come nowhere near it. * Gym #3 - Fantina (Hearthome City, Ghost-type): Kadabra's Psybeam is a 2HKO against Duskull, but it will cost it most of its health, as Shadow Sneak has priority and comes close to 2HKOing; Kadabra's health is better saved for Haunter, which can be OHKOed clean. Kadabra should also come nowhere near Mismagius, for obvious reasons. * Rival (Hearthome City): Psybeam 2HKOs Staravia, Buizel and Ponyta and OHKOs Roselia and Monferno. Staravia can kill with a critical Wing Attack, but a regular one will only 2HKO; the other Pokémon are not dangerous for Kadabra, 3HKOing it at best. Kadabra can also 3HKO Prinplup, but should stay away from Grotle's 2HKO Razor Leaf. * Gym #4 - Maylene (Veilstone City, Fighting-type): Meditite and Machoke can be OHKOed by Psychic if the TM was bought from the Game Corner; Psybeam still works, but can only 2HKO them, and Machoke can kill with a critical Strength. For Lucario, the best option is buying Focus Blast and a Wide Lens, shooting for the maximum possible accuracy and the OHKO; Kadabra's likelihood of OHKOing is lower than that of not doing so, though Kadabra can also take a Metal Claw or a Bone Rush up to four hits, or five if it set up Reflect when Meditite was on the battlefield (preferable, as Machoke should rather be OHKOed due to being more dangerous). If Alakazam has already reached its final evolution, instead, Focus Blast will OHKO for certain, though it can still miss even with the Wide Lens attached; still, a healthy Alakazam can take any one hit from Lucario, and even two non-critical Metal Claw if its Defense is not below average. * Rival (Pastoria City): A now-evolved Alakazam with Psychic can OHKO Staravia, Roselia, Buizel, Monferno, and has an OHKO chance against Ponyta which, even in the event of survival, deals relatively low damage with Stomp. It can also 2HKO Grotle and Prinplup, though a critical Bite or Razor Leaf from Grotle can off Alakazam in one go. * Gym #5 - Crasher Wake (Pastoria City, Water-type): Alakazam has a small OHKO chance against Gyarados or, failing that, can take a non-critical Bite and 2HKO with Shock Wave. Alakazam can also take a hit from Quagsire and 2HKO with Psychic or, if it has it, simply OHKO with Grass Knot; it should be noted, though, that Alakazam can take a hit only if healthy, so fighting both Gyarados and Quagsire is impossible without healing, unless Grass Knot is an option. Alakazam has no hopes of winning against Floatzel, getting wrecked by either a single Crunch or a combination of Crunch and Aqua Jet. * Cyrus (Celestic Town): Sneasel has no Dark STAB and can be OHKOed by Focus Blast; it can only 2HKO with Ice Punch, so misses will only be a problem if they happen twice. Golbat is wrecked by Psychic and, if Alakazam is still healthy, it can take on Murkrow with Shock Wave; however, its chance of OHKOing is very small, and Murkrow's Faint Attack is a near-OHKO. This is not a recommended option, if alternatives are available. * Rival (Canalave City): Alakazam's Psychic can OHKO both Roserade and Infernape, but only 2HKOs Staraptor, though only a critical Aerial Ace or Take Down from it can kill Alakazam in return. On the other hand, if Heracross survives a Psychic - which it might, although the chances are low - its Night Slash nearly OHKOs Alakazam. A safer 2HKO is netted against Rapidash and Floatzel, neither of which can 2HKO Alakazam in any way. Empoleon 3HKOs with BubbleBeam or Metal Claw, though Alakazam can 2HKO with Focus Blast if it manages to never miss. Torterra takes up to two Psychic and can 2HKO, nearly OHKO with Bite, so Alakazam is not suitable to fight it. * Gym #6 - Byron (Canalave City, Steel-type): Focus Blast is guaranteed to OHKO all of Byron's Pokémon. In the event of a miss, Alakazam can take any one hit, including Steelix's Earthquake; however, it cannot take two. If Alakazam gets hit once, preferably switch out to be on the safe side. Alakazam is notably one of the best Pokémon against Bastiodon, since its OHKO Focus Blast bypasses the Metal Burst threat; thus, if there are no plans of soloing this gym with Alakazam, it should be saved for Byron's ace. * Saturn (Lake Valor): Psychic OHKOs Golbat and Toxicroak. Bronzor can be 2HKOed with Focus Blast; although it has Shadow Ball, its offensive stats are so abysmal it would take at least five hits to KO Alakazam. * Mars (Lake Verity): Psychic the Golbat away, then use Focus Blast once more for Bronzor. Purugly can be OHKOed by Focus Blast or 2HKOed by Psychic, depending on Alakazam's health level; Faint Attack deals up to around 70%, so Psychic is safer if Alakazam is above that health threshold, as only a critical hit would turn the matchup against it. * Gym #7 - Candice (Snowpoint City, Ice-type): A high risk, high return kind of gym. Focus Blast OHKOs Piloswine and Sneasel, but both can 2HKO Alakazam (thus OHKO with a critical hit) if Focus Blast misses. Focus Blast also has an OHKO chance, not guaranteed, against Abomasnow, which can also 2HKO with Wood Hammer; the good news is, if Alakazam survives, the Wood Hammer recoil will take away the remainder of Abomasnow's health. Lastly, both Froslass and Alakazam can 2HKO the other with Shadow Ball. This should not be attempted by Alakazam under Hail, as it activates Snow Cloak and boosts Froslass' evasion, which can be further augmented by Double Team. * Cyrus (Galactic HQ): Focus Blast for Sneasel, once again without any Dark STAB, but do not underestimate its Ice Punch as it can still 2HKO. Psychic kills Crobat. Honchkrow can be 2HKOed with either Focus Blast or Shock Wave, preferably Shock Wave due to greater accuracy; its Drill Peck is also a 2HKO, so only not missing will win Alakazam the matchup. * Saturn (Galactic HQ): Psychic against Golbat and Toxicroak, then Focus Blast against Bronzor until it drops. * Mars and Jupiter (Spear Pillar, tag battle with rival): Using Alakazam in this battle is strongly discouraged. While it will definitely take down both of the Bronzor without trouble, that will also require at least two Focus Blasts each, and Alakazam will be hindered by their Reflect and Light Screen in the process, as well as its possible Focus Blast misses. Mars' Bronzor in particular has Light Screen, and as such, it severely impairs Alakazam's sweeping capabilities. The Golbat that come afterwards are no trouble at all, but will only be OHKOed by Psychic if Light Screen is not (or no longer) up. However, starting at their aces, everything gets (Pur)ugly very fast: Purugly has Shadow Claw and Skuntank has Night Slash, both of which are terrible; Skuntank OHKOs Alakazam from full health and Purugly can take away a sizeable chunk of it, up to around 80%. Even though Focus Blast OHKOs Purugly, a miss will likely cost Alakazam its life even at full health, since Purugly's teammate - whether it is Skuntank or not - may well finish the job Purugly started. Alakazam could get around this by taking down all of Mars' Pokémon first, using Focus Blast against Purugly and crossing fingers all goes well, then taking down all of Jupiter's, withdrawing Alakazam as soon as Skuntank comes out; however, this strategy requires Jupiter's Bronzor to stay alive throughout, and the rival could potentially knock it out sooner than Alakazam may want, plus there is always the Focus Blast miss rate to take into account. Use better options if there are any, and limit the usage of Alakazam to a comfortable minimum. * Cyrus (Distortion World): Risks everywhere. Houndoom is OHKOed by Focus Blast, but nearly OHKOs with Dark Pulse; two misses or one miss and a critical hit, and Alakazam is gone. Crobat is OHKOed by Psychic. Weavile is offed by Focus Blast, but a single miss is guaranteed to cost Alakazam its life by the hands of Night Slash. Honchkrow takes a hit and then kills with Night Slash. Gyarados has a small OHKO chance with Giga Impact and can survive a Shock Wave but not two, except its Quick Claw may just allow it to 2HKO before Alakazam does. Overall, this is not a fight Alakazam should be fighting, except when it comes to Crobat. * Giratina (Distortion World): Giratina destroys Alakazam. Do not try this. * Gym #8 - Volkner (Sunyshore City, Electric-type): At long last, Alakazam gets an opportunity to spam Calm Mind before sweeping the floor. Jolteon's Iron Tail is a 3HKO and, unless Alakazam's nature is detrimental to its Speed, Alakazam should move first. At +2 Special Attack, Alakazam OHKOs all of Volkner's team with Psychic. If Jolteon uses Thunder Wave, keep Alakazam healed whenever needed; Synchronize specimens will find it easier to pull off the sweep, since the paralysis will be passed on to Jolteon. * Rival (Pokémon League): Psychic is a 2HKO against Staraptor and Staraptor can 2HKO in return, so the matchup is winnable only without critical hits on the enemy's end. Psychic also has a high chance of OHKOing Heracross, though proper calculations should be run with Alakazam's stats; otherwise, Night Slash will come close to offing it from full health, let alone anywhere below. Alakazam is completely unfit against Snorlax, which can take up to two of its Focus Blasts and may even OHKO with Crunch. The easy enemies are Roserade and Infernape, both OHKOed by Psychic. Rapidash can be 2HKOed risk-free, but not Floatzel, which now has Crunch and can 2HKO back; Alakazam should not fight it anywhere below 90% health. Focus Blast 2HKOs Empoleon, but this matchup is even riskier, due to its Shadow Claw - also a 2HKO - and most of all, the Focus Blast miss rate. Do not touch Torterra at all, it can more than take a Psychic and one-shot with Crunch. * Elite Four Aaron (Pokémon League, Bug-type): Alakazam can OHKO Yanmega and Heracross with Psychic, if sitting around Cynthia's ace level. It can also 2HKO Vespiquen, but that requires it to survive an Attack Order, which it should, though specimens with a lower-than-average Defense may be OHKOed by a high damage roll. Scizor should not be attempted, as it wrecks Alakazam with X-Scissor. Drapion's is only a 2HKO, but so is Alakazam's Focus Blast, and Focus Blast often misses. * Elite Four Bertha (Pokémon League, Ground-type): After one Calm Mind, Alakazam can OHKO all of Bertha's team with Psychic. The only possible exception, if Alakazam's Special Attack is below average, is Hippowdon, which has a small chance of surviving one from a low damage roll; however, Alakazam can also take a Crunch from it if at full health. Setting up against Whiscash is advised, as its strongest move, Aqua Tail, is only a 3HKO. Unless critical hits get in the way, Alakazam can set up two Calm Minds against it if needed. Note that, if Alakazam still knows Grass Knot, no more than one Calm Mind is necessary. * Elite Four Flint (Pokémon League, Fire-type): Focus Blast will OHKO Houndoom if it does not miss; if it does, Dark Pulse is still a 2HKO, so Alakazam will survive a non-critical hit. Infernape can be taken down risk-free with Psychic, but Flareon, Rapidash and Magmortar are all 2HKOed and can 2HKO in return; Flareon in particular is vicious with Giga Impact, and an Alakazam with low enough Defense will suffer an OHKO from it. Alakazam can take on any one of them, but not all three. * Elite Four Lucian (Pokémon League, Psychic-type): Mr. Mime's strongest move is Thunderbolt, which is only a 4HKO against Alakazam. As such, this is the perfect opportunity to set up with Calm Mind. With just one use Mr. Mime, Espeon and Alakazam is OHKOed by Shadow Ball; with two uses, Gallade is also OHKOed; Bronzong will be OHKOed only with a full +6 setup, however. Alternatively, +4 is sufficient to secure the OHKO even against Bronzong, but with Focus Blast instead. * Champion Cynthia (Pokémon League): Spiritomb is a NO. Roserade may either be OHKOed with Psychic, or used to get some Calm Minds up; Alakazam can take up to two Sludge Bombs without any critical hits, also considering that Calm Mind will improve its Special Defense. Same for Milotic's Surf, and Milotic in particular forces Alakazam to set up at least two if it has Grass Knot or four if it needs to rely on Psychic; if Milotic is not OHKOed, it will retaliate with Mirror Coat and kill Alakazam. Lucario is OHKOed by Focus Blast and a healthy Alakazam can take a Shadow Ball from it, even if it misses; if Alakazam has already set up, it can OHKO with Psychic instead, starting at +2 (or +1 for any Alakazam with higher than average Special Attack). Togekiss' Air Slash is a 3HKO, so Togekiss is also good setup material; like Milotic, it can be OHKOed with Psychic starting at +4. Garchomp is also OHKOed starting at +4, and Alakazam needs to avoid it if its Calm Mind setups are anywhere below that, as its Earthquake is otherwise very likely to OHKO. * Post-Game: It is more unkind to Psychics than the regular game was, though Alakazam can still be useful against a good few opponents. Use caution against physical sweepers and the types Psychics hate, and Alakazam will be fine. }} Moves Abra will only have Teleport and learn absolutely nothing else until it evolves. As Kadabra, instead, it gets Confusion upon evolution, at level 16; from this point onwards, its level-up learnset will be the exact same as Alakazam's. Both of them get Disable at level 18, which is surprisingly useful against others of their own species, as a mirror match between two Kadabra likely has better chances of turning out successful than taking on an enemy Kadabra with anything but a Dark-type. Miracle Eye, at level 22, is awful and should never be kept. A welcome Confusion upgrade comes at level 24 in the form of Psybeam, a strong move for this point in the game; Reflect comes at level 28, and is excellent for this line, which has otherwise crappy Defense and can actually take a hit or two with Reflect support. Recover at level 30, however, is not worth keeping unless Kadabra's set is entirely stall-based, which would be less than characteristic for an Alakazam. Ignore Psycho Cut at level 34 as well, and take Calm Mind at level 36, amazing if Alakazam can set up against a purely special attacker, as Alakazam's special bulk is not too bad. Then, Psychic finally comes around at level 40, just in time to give the line a much needed power-up. Alakazam will not need Future Sight, which they learn at level 42, nor Trick, at level 46. Good options are available via TM as well, some of them very early on. Grass Knot is accessible starting after Gardenia, though it will only really become useful later down the road, when heavier Pokémon are fought. Electric coverage is also available in the form of Charge Beam or Shock Wave; not very powerful, but they become useful if the Special Attack boosts stack up. Charge Beam is usually a replacement for Calm Mind, whereas Shock Wave is better on a Calm Mind set. Other good options include Shadow Ball, which Alakazam will definitely want to fight some of its sworn enemies as well as fellow Psychic-types, as well as Focus Blast, which is very inaccurate but also very powerful, and fitting for a glass cannon. On the support side, the best options it gets are Reflect, which is also a TM move, as well as Light Screen. A set that runs both of the screens, or Reflect + Calm Mind, can also use Recover relatively proficiently against several foes. The tutored moves Alakazam gets access to in Platinum are largely physical, and thus pointless. For Focus Blast sets, the recommended held item is the Wide Lens. Recommended moveset: Calm Mind / Charge Beam, Psychic, and any two between Reflect / Shadow Ball / Grass Knot / Focus Blast Recommended Teammates * Steel-types: All three of Alakazam's weaknesses are perfectly covered by Steel-types which, unlike most other regions, are fairly easy to find in Sinnoh. A readily available option is the very starter Empoleon, though only from the last evolution onwards; failing that, Bastiodon and Lucario are also easy to obtain. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Empoleon, Steelix, Bastiodon, Bronzong, Lucario, Probopass (Platinum only), Magnezone (Platinum only), Scizor (Platinum only) * Physical tanks: Even with Reflect, Alakazam is lacking in the Defense department, and nothing can shield it from painful critical hits. Balanced teams require physical tanks as well as glass cannons, and this is especially important for teams that lead with Alakazam. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Golem, Steelix, Bastiodon, Whiscash, Bronzong, Sudowoodo, Garchomp, Snorlax, Hippowdon, Azumarill, Drapion, Gliscor (Platinum only), Probopass (Platinum only), Lickilicky (Platinum only), Magnezone (Platinum only), Rhyperior (Platinum only), Mamoswine (Platinum only) Other Abra's stats Kadabra's stats Alakazam's stats * What Nature do I want? Modest master race. Alakazam will never use its physical Attack, and it will need as much Special Attack as it can get. Timid is not bad either, but there will be very few things that can outspeed an Alakazam in Sinnoh, and they mostly boil down to Weavile, which is not Alakazam's ideal opponent anyway. Other good options are Bold and Calm. * Which Ability do I want? Synchronize can help pass a nasty status condition in some situations, and is generally more useful than Inner Focus, though Inner Focus has the benefit of negating Fake Out flinches. Neither of them is particularly useful, though; they both have their restricted niches. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Abra should become a Kadabra as soon as possible. The evolution into Alakazam largely depends on personal rulesets; naturally, as it is entirely up to the player, the sooner the better, but some may feel that a level 16 Alakazam is broken (because it is), and others may ban trade evolutions altogether. Kadabra and Alakazam perform similarly, so much of the same considerations apply for both; in Kadabra's case, Alakazam will mostly want to be more careful against physical hitters, and more conscious of critical hits from special ones during Alakazam's Calm Mind setups, keeping in mind that they will ignore Special Defense boosts; Speed is also an issue, as Kadabra will be outsped by a good few more opponents than Alakazam, which is nearly impossible to surpass. In general terms, the difference between the goodness of Kadabra and Alakazam in matchups comes around Maylene and thereabouts in all three games, and that is where a fairly balanced evolution (early 30s) should happen. * How good is the Abra line in a Nuzlocke? Less than it used to be, and by far. However, it is really not as bad thanks to its stats and reputation. Alakazam still fills in the special glass cannon role fantastically, has good coverage, and can take on several opponents all by itself. Naturally, there is more risk involved now that there are way more threats to consider, but overall, it is still a pretty good Pokémon to have. * Weaknesses: Bug, Ghost, Dark * Resistances: Fighting, Psychic * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Steel, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Dragon Category:Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses